Briarcliff HS Student Changes Lives with Bridges to Community

Briarcliff High School sophomore Rosie Swidler, who was born in the UK, and moved to Briarcliff Manor in September 2018 with her family, first ventured to the Dominican Republic in February 2019 on a service trip with Bridges to Community (BTC), sponsored by her synagogue Temple Sharaay Tefila. She journeyed to La Guama, a rural, impoverished community of 1500 residents, 60% of whom live below the poverty line. There, she immersed herself in the community and helped build a cement block house for a needy family.

BTC, a community development and service-learning organization based in Chappaqua, NY, promotes cross-cultural partnerships and sustainable community development. It began its work in Nicaragua in 1993 and expanded to the DR a little over six years ago. Over the years, Bridges has developed a sustainable and replicable community development program focused on four key areas: housing, health, education and economic development.

According to Rosie, her first trip “made me realize that I could truly make a difference in someone's life. It also allowed me to immerse myself in a country with a different language and culture and helped expand my horizons to understand what people's lives are like who live in severe poverty.”

She found the experience so rewarding that she was determined to return during her summer vacation. So, at the end of June, she headed back to the community of La Guama with St. John’s Episcopal Church (Larchmont, NY) on their 13th annual house-building trip with Bridges. In preparation for her trip, she raised an impressive $13,000 to support Bridges' community development work.

During her second week-long service trip, she was one of a group of sixteen that build a home for Gumercindo La Pax and his wife, Fela Jimenez, and their daughter and her children. Their old home was a tin structure which is in very poor condition with a leaky roof and dirt floors that eroded in the rain. The BTC team built the family a 6 x 8 metre cinderblock home with a tile floor and metal roof to provide a safe and sturdy home, fulfilling what the family thought was an impossible dream.

Reflecting on her two trips with Bridges, Rosie shared that “Bridges to Community has impacted my life by allowing me to understand the world better. Through my two trips, my Spanish has improved tremendously, I have formed new friendships and most importantly, I have come to appreciate the little things such as water that I in America have but those around the world including La Guama do not.” She also noted how it changed her perspective on the world and impacted her future goals, causing her to want to “focus on improving the lives of people who are less fortunate than I am – both locally and across the globe.”

For more information on Bridges to Community: https://bridgestocommunity.org/.